- Date
- July 24, 1997, 17:08 local (Jul 25, 1997, 00:08 UTC)
- Place
- Minden, NV
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N120MJCentrair ASW20F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970724045749A
- Case key
- 29850
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the pilot's improper planning/decision and subsequent encounter with gusty winds and strong downdrafts, which precluded reaching the airport and induced an unrecoverable high sink rate during an off-airport landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot of a glider said that as he was returning to the airport, he encountered strong turbulence and downdrafts, and concluded that he would not be able to safely reach the runway. He selected a field, and as he got closer, realized that he had too much energy for a straight-in approach and not enough for a pattern. The pilot said he then deployed some drag devices and began making S-turns. Reportedly, the glider encountered a downdraft and touched down hard with a very high sink rate. Ground witnesses reported that very gusty winds existed at the time of the landing. An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the glider and noted that no discrepancies were found.
Factual narrative
On July 24, 1997, at 1708 hours Pacific daylight time, a Centrair ASW20F glider, N120MJ, collided with the ground while attempting to land in a field about 8 miles south of the Minden, Nevada, airport. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was participating in a race competition event. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The glider sustained substantial damage. The private pilot, the sole occupant, incurred serious injuries. The flight originated from Minden on the day of the accident at 1332 for the closed circuit time over distance competition.
In his written statement, the pilot said that as he was returning to Minden he encountered strong turbulence and downdrafts, and concluded he would not be able to safely reach the airport. He selected a field, and, as he got closer, realized that he had too much energy for a straight-in and not enough for a pattern. The pilot said he then deployed some drag devices and began making S-turns. The glider encountered a downdraft and touched down hard with a very high sink rate. Ground witnesses reported that very gusty winds existed at the time of the landing.
An Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector examined the glider and noted that no discrepancies were found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N120MJ
- Reported as
- Centrair ASW20F
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 20188
- Airframe hours
- 1,978
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael I. Green
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 25, 1997 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- MEV
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 67
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,702 total · 1,015 in this make and model · 1,620 as pilot in command · 56 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 14 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RNO, 50 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.